For most athletes with an iota of charisma, getting into broadcast media is the logical step after retirement. But a select few are brave enough to ditch the path often taken and pave their own way. Former Tampa Bay RB Tobias Dorzon is one of them. After having a not-so-memorable NFL career end in 2012, the former NFL player decided to pursue his passion for cooking. Dorzon, whose father was a cook himself studied culinary in the offseason during his NFL career.
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After retirement, he moved to Brazil for three months to study culinary there. He came back to the States, worked at a host of restaurants, and opened up a catering service before finally opening up his own fine dining experience called the Huncho House. A couple of years ago, the CBS Mornings Team decided to pay the visionary a visit and know more about him.
In his conversation with Tony Dokoupil, the former NFL RB revealed how no one around him aspired to be a chef growing up. All his friends and peers wanted to be an athlete or a rapper. None wanted to be a chef like him.
“Never grew up with somebody next to me saying ‘man I can’t wait to be the next best chef’. No, it wasn’t a thing. [It was] I can’t wait to be the next best football player or the next best rapper or the next best basketball player.”
He then divulged that the switch to culinary came when he fell out of love for football. Tobias saw football becoming a job for him rather than a passion. Soon, he realized that he was just an amazing chef who was also good at football.
“I lost my love for football because it became a job. Whenever something becomes a job, it’s almost like what do you do next? I was always an amazing Chef that just knew how to play football.”
But that doesn’t mean his NFL career didn’t help him. Being a chef, and running your restaurant is a hectic job. Dorzon shared that his NFL career helps him run his kitchen efficiently as preparation and anticipation come naturally to him because of being an athlete.
“Being on time to things being ahead, being properly prepped to proceed to be great is something that I preach to everyone.”
Instagram Helped Tobias Dorzon Make Six Figures
In a 2018 interview with CNBC’s Make It, Tobias revealed that he loved posting aesthetic photos of his dishes on Instagram. He rode the content creation wave back then and this helped him earn massive rewards. Tobias’ culinary specialty lies in his Asian-infused style. In 2015, his specialty dishes jerk shrimp pasta, Thai chili jerk wing, and cilantro lime lamb chops caught Washington Redskins player Santana Moss on Instagram.
A few likes turned into DMs. Lo and behold, Moss became Tobias’s first celebrity client after he wooed the NFL Star with herb-roasted chicken, broccolini, and sweet potatoes. Moss soon introduced Tobias to the Washington locker room and as luck would have it, Dorzon got 5 more Washington players as his clients.
“He came back and told me, ‘DeSean Jackson wants you to start cooking for him and Trent Williams wants you to cook for him,’” said Dorzon. “Within a month I had five Redskins players I was cooking for.”
His celebrity client business went on to grow as he landed NFL clients like Tyrod Taylor and Robert Golden. Dorzon also ventured into the restaurant business and today has three restaurants. The former RB also went on to be part of cooking shows and even won a few. It’s crazy what following your heart can do!
